At this time I will no longer be taking any new review requests or participating in any memes. There will still be author interviews, blasts, guest posts and occasionally reviews posted (as I climb through by TBR pile!!). Life is kind of hectic and I have to focus on a few other commitments before coming back full-time to my blog. Thank you to everyone that has supported me and I won't be gone forever. I will still be around on my social media sites!

Monday, July 16, 2012

Thanks for having me on Kelsey’s Book Corner. Room1515 represents the culmination of
seven years of serious writing—critique groups, workshops and conference, and
award winning contests entries. Having learned the craft, I set out to
challenge conventional thinking with plots and themes that are controversial
and sometimes dark. Selecting my genre was easy, I’m a thriller fanatic,
particularly international-psychological thrillers with political storylines
and aspects of romance and betrayal. Stories of anti-heroines pitted against
the flawed love interests in their lives fascinate me. My novels deal with
greed, betrayal, lust, and murder, all the things that make life interesting.

Three writers influence my writing. Tom Clancy’s
novels, particularly Debt of Honor,
are examples of well-researched political thrillers. He set the standard for me
for attention to detail. I labor long to produce accurate scenes, detailed
descriptions, and recognizable sites. Locals living in the cities I write about
will relate the surroundings.

Thomas Harris’s Silenceof the Lambs stands out as the
psychological thriller. I strive to produce the emotional reaction he produces.
I can only hope to achieve his level one day. How can you not love Hannibal
Lecter?

Finally, Stieg Larrson’s The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo features the perfect anti-heroine,
Lisbeth Salander. Her character is a model for me to play off. Peacock, from Room 1515, fits the template.
Emotionally wounded, unable to attach, yet possessing the ability to act the
seductress, Peacock becomes my ideal anti-heroine.

My teaser for Room 1515 reads as follows. Pour one seductive female CIA agent. Mix in the most powerful financier in the world. Drop in ice cubes of betrayal and romance, and you have Room 1515. Readers love good hooks.

The one paragraph description in bookseller sites like Amazon reads. Ever feel unsure of the financial future and the future of the USA? Greed drives decisions, and greed-driven decisions are always short-term. Say a shrewd group of power players is manipulating the world economy to accumulate long-term wealth. They could rule the world. Don't fear the 1% against whom crowds protest. Fear the .0001%. You never hear their names. However, they exist. One man will emerge to lead them.

Creating a novel
begins for me by researching the world into which I will drop my characters. In
Room 1515, the settings are
Washington D.C. and Great Britain, primarily London. The action takes place a
few years in the future. I have the liberty to alter the surroundings a bit. I
can put a new hotel in a location where there isn’t one today, and that’s all
right. I’ve been to Washington and London. This helps. Even if I hadn’t, the
Internet provides views of buildings and layouts of the inside and outside of
each. I research every building, park, etc. for accuracy before I write about
it. I research where domestic and foreign politicians hold meetings, so I don’t
have an event in my book going on in a place where it shouldn’t. I’m sorry, but
I love Wikipedia.

Once I’ve
fleshed out the physical world and the mood of that world, I’m ready to create
the tension. Yes. I have an idea about my characters. However, I need to have a
world that is tension packed to drop my characters into that world. In Room 1515, I take the conflict in
today’s world and make it worse. The world economy is collapsing. A group of
rich financiers is causing that collapse for its own purposes. American sends a
seductress to woo the leader of this group and steal his secrets.

Now, I ask
myself a million questions. What would each side’s motivation be? How could
they achieve what they desire? Who could best accomplish each major task?
Again, there is a lot of research. I have to study how the economy in one part
of the world affects another. Having done the research, I give each main
character motives and plans. Tension must increase as the story moves along or
readers go to sleep.

Ever read novels
were the bad guys have no redeeming character and the good guys are Dudley
Do-Rights? The real world is not this way. The more conflicted people and
events are the better my novel will be. I mentioned the anti-heroine earlier.
To put a true protagonist, loyal, honest, loves dogs, into Room 1515, would be sinful. I want an anti-heroine, a flawed woman
pursuing the enemies of her country, until she questions the tactics of her own
government. I don’t want an evil antagonist either. Instead of a Doctor No, I
want to create a unique, sympathetic character with a noble purpose, likeable while
being ruthless. Emotionally complex characters hold readers interests.

Having
established the conflicts my characters will face, I ask myself more questions.
What is each character’s worldview? What events shape their past? What
strengths and weaknesses cause them to succeed or fail? I research where the
main characters were born, and if it’s important, the history of the area.

Once the
character is solid in my mind, I talk to them. I show them the outline of the
book. I set the rules. “I’ll give you some freedom in each scene. Surprise me
by showing me something unique. However, do not Sin. I am God. I determine the
outcome I want. Don’t change my novel. Enjoy yourself within your scenes. Sin,
in the world of my novel, is a character attempting to change the outcome I’ve
slaved so hard to build.

Once I flesh out
my characters, I’m ready to write. A novel takes me two months of planning, two
months of writing, and two months of editing to complete. Room 1515 is the first novel of an intended trilogy. The novel
stands alone, but works best with sequels. Between those sequels, I’m planning
to release an unrelated thriller. By the end of 2012, I’ll have three novels in
print. By the end of 2013, the number will be between five and six.

After over twenty-five years in the executive search business with Wolters Search Group, I retired in 2008 to write full-time. Since then, I've had some moderate success. Four of my short stories have been selected for publication by Chicken Soul. I have my first novel, Room 1515, available in eBook and paperback form.

International Thriller. A female agent named Peacock is sent on a
mission to woo and win the heart of the world’s most powerful
powerbroker. Her job is to learn his secrets and foil his plans.
Instead, she falls in love. A story of the balance of world financial
power, betrayal, and romance.